Sunday, May 3, 2009

"Health that has been restored due to the cultivation of virtue is not the same as healththat has been restored simply due to the dispelling of illness."

-Thea Elijah

Reading and listening to acupuncture/herbalism lectures might not seem like something that would have a wide-based appeal for non-practitioners, but Thea's perspective on healing and life is worth reading through the specifics in order to get to the generalities. Why not go browse through her website?

I would be SO interested in talking that idea to death! I mean, exploring it.

I suppose that a whole lot of my cynicism toward the human race is that I don't see ANYONE (hardly, that is what it feels like more than what it actually is) actively cultivating virtue -- they will do what is "right" only when it is convenient to them, like using clothes lines only in the summer and on pretty sunny days. Just as who you are is really who you are when no one is looking, virtue is only virtuous when it involves a little sacrifice. Now, there's plenty about this life that doesn't involve sacrifice, but there is some that does. Period.

The clothesline thing is a perfect example - such an easy thing to implement really, but unless it's got all the "aesthetics" (sunny day, crisp white sheets, nice breeze), it's just too mundane.

No breeze? Dust storm? Rain? -40? Most of us have enough space to set up racks in the house to deal with those things. That's what we've done here, since there isn't an outdoor line yet, and it's what we use in the winter anyway.

But the point is, that a lot of these things are so easy, but require input and change from the way we've always done it.

And as far as the health stuff, well, obviously I'm a huge proponent of acupuncture, and getting more familiar with herbalism too. But it's slower medicine, and requires input from the "patient". To really get the most out of it, you can't just show up - you need to show up and be willing to CHANGE. Something's not working, so it needs to CHANGE, and probably continuously. Flow. Moving with the seasons. Doing the right thing at the right time. Very much what the fire element is about, living in time and moving with it appropriately. Propriety is the usual translation. The cultivation of virtue, like the cultivation of a garden. Never demanding that it has to be static.

(You can tell I'm in love with Chinese Medicine, huh?)

Anyway, I've got some commitments calling to me loudly, so I have to run, but I'll certainly be back later.